Bleach: Live Action One-Shots
by Yemi Hikari
Summary: These one-shots are inspired by the live action movie. Isshin, Chad
1. Isshin I: Papa Bear is a Mama Bear

_Disclaimer – I don't one Blech. I enjoyed the live-action movie a lot, but found myself inspired to write create a one-shot collection. Warning: This one-shot collection contains spoilers for the movie but also spoilers for those who've only seen the movie._

 **Title:** Papa Bear is a Mama Bear  
 **Characters:** Isshin, Ichigo, Yuzu, Karin, mentions of Ganju, Kaien and Kukaku  
 **Genre:** Family, Angst  
 **Summary:** Isshin tries taking on the role of both father and mother to his children to varying degrees as they grow older.  
 **Notes:** A few fans feel the canon characters are out of character, but in reality the live action simply didn't touch upon some of the quirky character traits which only existed for comedic purposes. The live action focuses more on the dark tones of the series rather than the humor elements, so this honestly makes sense. I personally loved seeing a lot more of Isshin's serious side. I wasn't bothered by the fact Isshin made the meal instead of Yuzu, because it honestly bothered me that Yuzu took on all of the family chores at such a young age with no help simply because someone would need to teach her how to properly do these things, and that person would have been Isshin. Seeing more of his serious side inspired me to write this particular one-shot.

 **Bleach: Live Action One-Shots  
** _ **Isshin I ~ Papa Bear is a Mama Bear**_

When did his children stop respecting him as their parental figure?

Isshin stood in the area between the kitchen and eating area of the Kurosaki household looking at Masaki's picture. There was no getting around his children avoiding discussions with him regarding their life troubles. His heart ached, knowing full well the children needed him and the advice he could give, and yet Isshin also knew Ichigo hadn't discussed with him an important detail he honestly needed to know.

Under normal circumstances a parent wouldn't find themselves thrilled at finding out any of their children had spiritual abilities, yet would find themselves even more disturbed if their child showed up at home declaring they helped a spirit pass on. Some might even decide said child was attention seeking, if not in need of being admitted to a psychiatric ward, yet Isshin knew better. The spirts Ichigo saw and interacted with were real.

No, his real worry regarding the growth in Ichigo's spiritual abilities lay in the fact such growth placed his son in danger. More specifically, Isshin found himself struggling with secrets kept including his own special abilities and the past which came with them. In the back of his mind, he knew he needed to discuss things with Ichigo even if his son didn't wish to do so.

Where though did he go wrong that his children didn't take him seriously?

After Masaki died, he found himself the only one able to make meals. He'd wake up the mornings after she died and shuffled into the kitchen feeling numb, knowing full well he needed to keep going for his children's sake. His meals weren't the best and issued complaints due to the fact the food wasn't Misaki's. At least Karin did. Yuzu said nothing while Ichigo picked at his food.

The task first brightened when one day Yuzu came downstairs and started doing various household tasks, even helping him make some meals. His toddler daughter honestly made more work for him in the long run, yet seeing her smile brought a smile to his face. With Ichigo, he found himself needing to pull the boy away from the spot Masaki died, yet smiles rarely if ever came to his son or Karin.

Seeing the frowns tore him up, yet he wanted his children smiled, so he did the only thing he knew how. He became his goofy self, doing various silly things to make his children laugh. Of course, this in turn probably proved a detriment once his children got older, as they struggled with taking him seriously, and yet there were times he shifted from his goofy self to his more serious side.

Of course, his advice when they were younger was always spun with fairy tale sweetness, to take the bite out of the way the real world was. After all, he wanted all of their hurts to disappear. Ichigo was the first to stop responding to such tactics, yet in an amount of time which seemed to short of a time Karin followed suit. Only Yuzu was left, which left him with a slight shock when both girls told them under no certain terms would they confide in him.

Where though did he get the idea of spinning his advice with a soft touch on the real-world facts?

He remembered sometimes at night after Misake died how he felt like crying.

Isshin, however, refused to cry. In the back of his mind he'd tried telling himself crying was unmanly and Shiba men never cried. The fact he took on the family name of his dead wife didn't change the fact Isshin by blood was still a Shiba. The nights Kurosaki Isshin felt like crying saw him creeping out of his room in hopes of not waking his sleeping children, yet sometimes he found himself listening to the sobs which came from one of his three children.

Whenever he heard Ichigo crying himself to sleep yet insisting he wasn't crying because he was strong enough to protect everyone Isshin found himself reminding himself that, yes, Shiba men did cry. He'd seen Ganju bawl his head off in a very unmanly manner, getting snot all over the place. Kaien on the other hand somehow managed to make crying seem very manly, even when Isshin found the shoulder of his captain's haoiri soaked from tears as Kaien let everything out.

Rarely did Kaien ever cry, and yet Isshin found himself amazed whenever the ever serious Kaien needed the chance to let his emotions out, particularly when the never serious Isshin never, ever cried. Sometimes though, Kaien found himself at an emotionally raw place, and his wife Miyako wasn't around to vent to. As such Isshin found himself the sounding board, yet he never minded, yet he also found himself wishing he could let his emotions out like that.

Those nights Isshin felt honestly emotionally raw enough to cry, what with raising three children on his own, so one might argue everything began with Misaki's death – the entire mess. After all, at this point in his life Isshin found himself taking on the role of not just father to his three small children, yet also the role of the mother. Yet, in truth the thing which made his emotions so raw didn't start there, being that this wasn't the first time and place he found himself raising three siblings – these siblings being his own.

"Okay, so maybe you didn't need me to raise you Kaien. Maybe you're the one who took on the mother role back then, so that's why this is so infuriating," Isshin said once back when Misaki died. He'd found himself staring into the mirror, his image mirroring that of the dead Shiba Kaien. He'd spoken to his reflection in the same manner he spoke to Misaki's poster. "How did you do it Kaien?"

Isshin remembered splashing some water in his face each time and taking a deep breath, stepping out of the bathroom in hopes that one more day without Misaki might go well. Somehow he started attempting to mimic Kaien in the manner he interacted with his children. That's where he got the fairy tale like advice from as this always soothed over the feelings of their younger siblings. He'd always admired his brother's ability.

Not only did he never succeed in being as serious as Kaien, there were also times he wondered to himself, sometimes out loud. "Maybe, just maybe asking Kaien for advice isn't the most apt of actions."

After all, Kaien's reaction to losing his wife wasn't the best example, particularly when Isshin needed to survive for his children's sake. And yet, in the back of his mind he always remembered the softness and manner Kaien took with their younger siblings.

Again, Isshin found himself going to bed with his emotions raw. On the way he stopped in the bathroom and looked in the mirror at a face which no longer looked like Kaien's. Gone was the youthfulness of when he first entered the world of the living, yet he still choose to speak with Kaien in the same manner he did Misaki.

"How'd you do it? How did you convince Kukaku and Ganju to take you seriously, yet also remained so tactful?"

" _You know…_ " a memory of Kaien's words flickered in the back of his head. " _… you're an absolute idiot Shiba Taicho. Your third seat would take you far, far more seriously if you didn't treat him as a child but didn't act like a child yourself. He's not some little kid after all._ "

Isshin shook his finger at the mirror. "You! Why do you always have to be the sensible one? Huh?"

A knock came at the door, yet nobody entered. He simply heard Karin's voice berating him. "This is why I say you act like a fourteen-year-old."

He heard his daughter shuffle away and he leaned in closer, looking into the eyes still pretending his reflection was Kaien. "Got it. Don't treat the kids like children, yet still keep up my goofy self. Be how I was for you, goofy only when they need it, and serious without any hint of goofy smiles when they don't. I always did better separating the two. Still…"

Kaien's ability to gently explain things was still something he wished he was capable of doing with his children.

 **Q:** Why do you write Isshin as a Shiba sibling and the former head of the Shiba clan when he is actually their uncle and the former head of a branch family for the clan?  
 **A:** Is he really their uncle and not the former head of the clan?  
\- People assumed Isshin was their uncle because Kukaku and Ganju mention someone they called uncle and fans automatically assumed they were referring to Isshin. However, uncle could also refer to another character entirely. However, someone else pointed out around this time that it wasn't unheard of for family members to refer to the head of the clan with that term, but those not familiar with Japanese culture don't realize that if there is an age gap between siblings that the younger sibling may call the older sibling uncle or aunt instead of brother out of respect. There's a case in point with the move _Summer Wars_ which actually involves a noble family.  
\- There were actually two translations of the line, one that said Isshin was the family head and one that did not. The translation which said Isshin was the family head came first, but people discredited said translation for two reason. One – people claimed the main family was never referred to as the "main branch", which actually isn't true. Two – people claimed it was impossible for Isshin to be head when Kaien was, which is true, yet this statement never once questioned when Kaien became head let alone whether Isshin disappeared before or after Kaien died. If Isshin disappeared before, Kaien could have become head after, but if Kaien died first, Isshin could have become head after.  
… I decided a long time ago I'd always go with the headcanon on this one simply because fandom dismissed it to easily regardless of whether it got verified as not being canon or not.


	2. Chad I: Watch Your Back

**Title:** Watch Your Back  
 **Characters:** Chad, Ichigo, punks  
 **Genre:** Friendship  
 **Summary:** Chad has Ichigo's back and that's how their friendship works.  
 **Notes:** On top of Ichigo never saving Chad and Orihime from Hollows in the live action, both Chad and Orihime do not get their power awakening moments. However, unlike Orihime Chad still got a few crowning moments. The first involved shifting Chad's introduction to the viewer to the same time as Ichigo's pivotal introduction, whereas Orihime is still introduced at the same point in the narrative as she was before.

 **Bleach: Live Action One-Shots  
** _ **Chad I ~ Watch Your Back**_

He stood out like a sore thumb. As such, Chad never expected to make any friends, yet he wouldn't trade his friendship with Ichigo for the world. The friendship was unconditional, unless one counted watching the others back which in truth was something friends did. With Ichigo, he simply used his fists as promised, to protect others, and yet he found himself protecting what Ichigo cared about as well.

As such, he wasn't surprised when he came across Ichigo tending to the memorial of a dead child. Chad remembered the news story. The child was hit by a car, devastating the parents. Everyone at the school talked about the event, so everyone in the neighborhood knew full well the memorial was there, and everyone respected said memorial.

Except, of course, punks like the ones Ichigo was dealing with today. Said punks had no qualms skateboarding right into the memorial and knocking over the simple flower. One of course had no qualms with sneak attacking Ichigo from behind, which was when Chad stepped in and sent the punk flying. That was how their friendship was, and he wouldn't exchange it for the world.

While it might seem like a small thing, Ichigo found himself pleased Chad called him friend. Chad never said much, yet he knew the giant would stand up for others when he saw them getting hurt. In fact, Ichigo suspected Chad might have stood in front of the car to save the kids life, had he been there that day and himself survived.

Hearing Chad's words as he left, Ichigo couldn't but feel grateful towards his friend and knew he'd do the same in return.


End file.
